


How Lucky We Are (to be alive right now)

by PotterheadAvengerDemigod



Series: my heart on your skin [4]
Category: DC Animated Universe, DCU, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Cute, First Christmas, Gen, Kent farm, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-15 04:13:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13023006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterheadAvengerDemigod/pseuds/PotterheadAvengerDemigod
Summary: Wally bends and picks up the envelope. He slides a nail under the flap and prises it open, and then there’s a giggle of, “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me-”Otherwise known as The 12 Days of Christmas, Birdflash edition





	1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

**Author's Note:**

> There's going to be a double post for the first and second day of Christmas because I missed the first day of Christmas yesterday, then it'll be one update daily until Christmas!

It was a pretty ordinary day- that was, if ordinary meant  _ boring. _ It was already December, but snowfall was light, few and far between, and the ground outside was only just dusted with white. There wasn’t enough snow to play in, and just enough ice on the roads that Wally was hesitant to go for a run. So he was stuck home, sitting on the couch and flipping television channels.

Christmas movie.

Christmas movie.

Christmas movie.

Why couldn’t Dick be free to hang out? Wally hadn’t seen his soulmate in more than a week, and this was the first winter they would spend together as soulmates, and  _ why did Gotham villains love to attack when it was cold and dark and wet? _

Both Uncle B and Aunt I were out working, and even though Wally spent more time at their house than his own, and even though he knew the place like the back of his hand, he couldn’t find a single thing to catch his attention. He finally settles on rewatching A Christmas Carol for maybe the tenth time -Uncle B and Aunt I both loved the movie, and despite how much Wally protested every time they played it, he never failed to watch it with them when offered.

He’s just gotten to the part where Ebenezer Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Past when the doorbell sounds, followed by an ever so familiar cackle, and Wally races to the door in record time -even for him- and flings it open, sticking his head out and glancing desperately from side to side.

Dick is nowhere to be seen, sadly.

Wally physically droops, shoulders sagging and lips downturning, chin hitting his chest. His gaze meets the floor, and that’s when he sees the white envelope on the doorstep.

He bends and picks it up, feels the heavier-than-paper weight of it, notes the uneven thickness and the almost inaudible rattle of metal from within. He slides a nail under the flap and prises the envelope open, and then there’s a phantom press of lips to his cheek and a giggle of,  _ “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me-” _

And Wally’s head shoots up, eyes darting to the rooftops and berating himself for not looking up to begin with- Bats always wanted the high ground.

And Wally catches the flash of canary yellow and black disappearing over the rooftops, and pouts. He eyes the spot where Dick had disappeared for a couple of minutes, sighing at the thought of having missed his soulmate by just  _ that bit,  _ then finally turns his attention back to the envelope in his hands.

He draws out the note first, a thin slip of folded paper with Dick’s almost calligraphy-worthy cursive on it.

_ Hey Walls,  _ it reads.  _ Sorry I haven't been spending much time with you lately; two Arkham breakouts in the same number of weeks, and yesterday Ivy hit B with some sort of poison and A and I have been working ‘round the clock to whip up an antidote. A’s just administered the one we synthesised as I’m writing this, and here’s to hoping it works. I’m planning to sneak off and pass this to you once B makes a recovery, and I’ll stay just long enough to see you get it. I can’t stay longer, I’m afraid- most of the big bads are back in Arkham already, but Harley and Ivy are still loose, and I’ve gotta go lock them up. _

_ On that note, merry first day of Christmas, Walls, and here’s to hoping I’ll be more free next week! Enjoy the gift. _

_ Love, R. _

Wally grins at the message, and now that he squints closer he can see how rushed Dick was when he was writing it, the strangely clinical, descriptive way he wrote when he was worried, no jokes or quips anywhere. But Wally gets the gist of the message, and he’s almost quivering with excitement at the thought of an early Christmas gift from his soulmate.

He shakes the envelope just slightly, hearing the metal rattle again, and wonders what Dick got him. Then he pours the object out onto his hand, cocking his head to the side as what seems like a thin metal chain slides out. There’s a tiny charm that’s attached to it, just three chain links down from the clasp, and Wally abruptly realises Dick’s given him a charm bracelet, the kind where you could attach little charms to the chain as you collected more.

Wally brings the bracelet up to eye level, inspecting the lone charm on it. It’s a little tree carved into metal, lacquered green and brown, the detail amazing, considering the size of the charm. There’s an odd coloured splotch off to the side of the tree’s leaves, but one that seems deliberate nonetheless. Wally stares even harder, squinting to try and make out the splotch, and that’s when he realises that it’s a little brown and white bird, roughly the shape of a pigeon and with a little green pear in its beak.

A bird in a tree?

No. A  _ partridge in a pear tree. _

And Wally flashes back to the whisper-song of Dick’s giggle in his ear, the soft singsong voice just before the younger boy had darted up to the rooftops, and Wally throws his head back and  _ laughs. _


	2. Two Turtle Doves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another post because I missed the first day of Christmas yesterday, so I'm making up for it now!  
> This one's pretty short, sorry about that!

The next day sees Wally in almost a similar state of boredom, and even though Dick’s become relatively more free -at least, the other boy’s free enough to have entertained Wally calling at midnight to talk- he still isn’t free enough to hang out for more than a couple of hours each time.

The ice on the roads have thawed just enough that Wally can risk going out for a short run. So he’s returning from a run when he sees the gift wrapped parcel on his doorstep.

Normally, an unmarked parcel showing up on his doorstep would warrant some apprehension, even though the only people who would want to harm him were the Flash family’s villains and of them only the Rogues knew his identity. And even then the Flashes and the Rogues had a standing agreement not to use their identities against each other. Wouldn’t be the first time Trickster had sent him some harmless prank disguised as a present, though.

But this time Wally can feel the satisfaction radiating through his soulbond, the underlying current of  _ I hope he likes it. _

So Wally races forward and practically rips the box open, and when he does he’s immediately greeted by a faceful of feathers.

Two birds fly out of the box, and one of them crashes straight into his face in an explosion of brown and cream feathers and indignant squawks, sending Wally falling back on his ass in a flail of limbs. Wally sits on the ground, dazed, still shaking feathers out of his hair. That’s when a familiar laugh echoes in his ears and the feeling of distance that had echoed over his bond for the past half a month snaps close, like a stretched rubber band being released, tension he hadn’t known he’d been cartying melting away like ice in the desert sun, nd then there’s a warm hand in his, a warm laugh in his ears.

When Wally blinks his eyes open, what he sees is Dick standing over him, haloed by the sun and his wide grin glowing even though he’s in shadow. And then Dick’s hauling him to his feet and Wally’s wrapping his arms around the younger boy, pressing his lips to the shorter boy’s forehead. “I missed you so much, little bird, oh my God, it’s been half a month and I missed you so much.”

Dick laughs, high and soft and nothing like his Robin cackle. It’s a soft, gentle, warm laugh, a little rough around the edges and when he laughs too hard it squeaks a little, but it’s his real, unmasked laugh, not the façade Richard Grayson uses to charm Gotham socialites, not the mask Robin hides behind, but the real, imperfect and beautiful Dick Grayson laugh.

And Wally crushes the smaller boy close to his chest and smiles against dark hair.

Finally Dick squirms a little and pulls away, bending down and reaching into the box that stood open on Wally’s doorstep.

“Hey, you didn’t think that the only thing I got you was two frightened birds, did you?”

Dick opens his fist, and sitting there in the middle of his palm is a charm not unlike the one already dangling from the chain around his wrist. But it’s not a tree this time, it’s two small birds, brown and white and black, with wings spread mid-flight. Doves. Turtle doves.

And Dick grins, fastening the charm next to the partridge one, then leans up to press a soft kiss to Wally’s cheek.

“On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree,” Dick hums, and Wally grins, pulling the younger boy towards him and planting a light kiss on Dick’s lips.

“I love you, soulmate,” he whispers against full lips, and Dick smiles.

“I love you too, soulmate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!


	3. Three French Hens

The third day of Christmas brings with it a call from Uncle Barry asking him to help out with a another attempt to blow up the Flash Museum, but when he gets there all he sees is Robin, in casual clothing with his sunglasses on, leaning against the side of the building.

“Sorry I had Barry drag you here under false pretenses,” Dick says, grinning. “But I’ve gotta somehow make up for ditching my soulmate during the Christmas season.”

The acrobat raises a hand holding a picnic basket, his smile growing ever wider, and Wally feels a grin overtake his face. “Gimme a second to go change.”

Dick raises an eyebrow and replies, “Meet you at the park.”

Wally nods once and then he’s off like a shot, racing back home to grab a set of relatively nicer clothes, his Kid Flash suit compacted back into his ring. He makes it to the park in record time, and then he leans against a tree, waiting, as Dick comes strolling in, swinging his basket in hand. He looks up, meeting Wally’s gaze, and then starts laughing.

“Should have guessed you’d be here first,” Dick says, jogging up to Wally and setting the basket down on the ground. He lays down the blanket and sits, pulling Wally down beside him. Dick pulls a plate of oddly shaped sandwiches out of the basket then, each slice of bread somewhat triangular but not exactly. Wally looks closer, sees what looks like a head and a beak- it’s a bird?

There are three sandwiches shaped like so, and the basket is full of other normal foodstuff, only those three any different.

Then Dick sticks a little flag -three stripes, blue, white, red- into the first sandwich, singsonging,  _ “Le troisième jour de Noël…” _

And Wally doesn’t speak French, but he understands  _ Noël  _ and can parse out the meaning of  _ troisième _ well enough.

“French hens, huh?” He laughs, and settles in to eat the hen-shaped sandwiches.

The picnic passes with Wally eating most of the food, Dick sitting back, leaning against the speedster and smiling, occasionally pressing light kisses to Wally’s jaw. Dick steals bites of food from Wally at times, sneaking a mouthful of his ham sandwich when he isn’t looking, or a forkful of mac and cheese -the actual homemade with real cheese kind, Alfred would never stand for anything less.

When the feast is finally done, plates clear and even speedster metabolism satisfied, Dick grins and reaches into his pocket, and there’s a clink of metal as Dick draws out a small charm, and Wally doesn’t have to look to know that this one is three hens- French hens, to be exact.

He holds out his wrist, the two charms dangling from their chain, clinking softly against one another, and Dick smiles, pressing his lips to the corner of Wally’s mouth, then fastens the newest charm onto the thin silver chain, the bracelet looking less and less empty as the days go by. Wally raises his wrist to eye level, admiring the detail on the newest addition; three hens in varying shades of cream and tan, small red crests and little red beaks pecking at invisible grains, crowded together but not cluttered.

Wally can’t help the bubble of affection that rises in his chest, the feeling like his heart is growing three sizes, too big for his rib cage to contain, full of love and caring. He wonders if this is what it’s like to have someone love you so unequivocally, so completely and utterly and unconditionally, wonders if this is what it’s like to give yourself so fully to another and know that you’re safe no matter what.

He can’t help himself when he leans over and pulls Dick into a light kiss, lips on lips, just a soft, warm, sweet one not unlike the first kiss they’d ever shared, and feels Dick melt into his touch, lean body curling into his own even as the younger boy draws back and blinks softly, dark eyelashes fluttering over bottle-blue eyes, their foreheads pressed together and gazes locked on the other like nothing else mattered.

Maybe nothing else did.

Wally smiles softly, and then presses another light peck to Dick’s cheek before holding up his right wrist, the bracelet and its three charms flashing in the late morning sunlight.

A beat, both of their gazes captivated by the play of light, then Wally says, “You are  _ such  _ a dork, Dick Grayson.”

Dick blinks, stunned, then slowly his expression morphs into one of outrage, and Wally doesn’t even see the blow coming until Dick is shoving him down onto the picnic blanket with his fingers scrabbling at Wally’s sides mercilessly, all the speedster’s ticklish spots hit in a millisecond.

“You take that  _ back!”  _ Dick cries, and Wally’s squirming helplessly, face red enough that his freckles are almost an afterthought, and he’s giggling hysterically.

“I give, I give!” the older boy yelps between gasps, and Dick finally lets up, grinning, his dark fringe flopping in his eyes and his smile a slash of white across his tan skin.

“Do you take it back?” The acrobat asks, and Wally nods frantically.

“Yes, I take it back, you’re the bestpersoneverIloveyousomuchyou’regreat-”

Dick laughs then, carefree and happy, and Wally subsides, drawing in a breath and feeling Dick’s happiness flow over their bond, rebounding against his and amplifying tenfold. Then they’re both laughing, tears beading at the corners of their eyes and holding onto each other for support, and Wally wonders how he could ever have been so lucky to get such a soulmate as wonderful as Dick Grayson.


	4. Four Calling Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty short, sorry about that!

It’s already six PM and Wally can’t help but wonder where Dick is. The past three days his charm had come before mid-afternoon, and it’s day four and Wally wonders where his soulmate is. He hadn’t heard of any big crime going down in Gotham.

And of course that’s when the doorbell rings.

When Wally speeds over to the door and flings it open, Dick’s standing right outside dressed from head to toe in designer wear, a fitted navy blue jacket and dress pants that probably cost more than Wally’s entire wardrobe, a crisp white shirt and a burgundy tie, his hair slicked back and ruffled just the tiniest bit, an elegant lock of dark hair falling across his forehead. The younger boy is carrying a red and yellow gift box with a gold ribbon, which he pushes into Wally’s arms and then presses the lightest if pecks to his cheek.

“Gotta go, sorry, Wayne Foundation gala in half an hour and Alf’s gonna kill me if I turn up late or mess up my clothes. Bye, Walls, love you!”

Dick’s barely even completed his sentence before he’s turning and rushing off, and Wally’s already shaking his head and laughing as he carries the box gingerly into the house and shuts the door with his foot.

He brings the box up to his room, shutting the door behind him and then sitting on his bed, lifting the lid and grinning when he sees four little robot robins milling around the bottom of the box. The moment he peers in the birds start chirping up a storm, and after a moment the endless cheeps turn into a very familiar tune- The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Wally reaches into the box and draws out one of the robins, holding it in the palm of his hand, grinning when it cheeps happily, nestling down into his palm. He settles into a cross-legged position and lays the robin down on his mattress, reaching back into the box to lift out the other three and settle them down beside the first.

There’s a little envelope at the bottom of the box, and Wally can feel his fourth charm through the thin paper. He opens it up, pulling the little note in the envelope out, scanning through Dick’s cursive.

_ Hope you like the little robins, Walls. I got Roy to help me build them, and B helped a little with the coding -don’t worry, I made sure he didn’t put surveillance cameras in them. Anyway, you’re free to keep them, and if they run out of battery just put them in the sun, they’re solar-powered. A little way to keep me close when I’m away, yeah? _

_ Love, R _

Wally smiles, lets his adoration flood their soulbond, feels Dick’s smugness in return, an undercurrent of satisfaction at having pleased his soulmate.

Finally, Wally pours the charm in the envelope into his hand- it’s similar to the other charms, a small piece of carved silver, lacquered beautifully. It’s four robins in flight, red and cream and brown and yellow, and one of them has a little black mask. The four birds are in flight, beaks open in soundless chirps, and Wally grins, thumb running over the edges of the robin with a mask. He unclasps the chain from around his wrist, laying it gently on the bed and fastening the newest charm to it, reclasping the bracelet back around his wrist the moment it’s done.

Satisfied, Wally keeps his gaze on the bracelet, slowly being filled up, and grins, his soulbond singing with joy as both boys’ feeling ricochet and amplify, even miles apart.

At his feet, the robins waddle around, chirping softly, the one that Wally had picked up first nuzzling up to him and cheeping softly.

Wally smiles, running a gentle finger down the feathered back, and presses a soft kiss to its head.

The little robin chirps again, pressing closer, and Wally smiles.


	5. Five Golden Rings

When Wally jerks awake it’s still dark out, although barely so, and his bedside clock reads five thirty AM. He groans in annoyance- what in the world woke him so early? He’s just considering going back to sleep when an ever so familiar cackle sounds, followed by a soft whump as Dick jumps onto Wally’s bed.

“Dude,” Wally complains, pouting as the young acrobat makes himself at home on the mattress, pulling the covers off Wally and bundling himself up in them, heedless of the glare his soulmate shoots him.

Wally narrows his eyes, but his lips betray him as they tremble, futilely trying to hide his smile. Dick just giggles unrepentantly, leaning up to press a soft kiss to Wally’s jaw, grin stretching his lips when Wally immediately stops scowling.

That’s when Wally realises that Dick’s still in his Robin suit, mask and all, his cape a heap of fabric on the ground. Wally reaches out to peel Dick’s mask from his face, and his fingers are a fraction of a centimeter away from the mask when Dick bats his hand away with a disgruntled huff. “Dude, do you _want_ to get tasered?”

Immediately, Wally draws his hand away like he’s already been shocked.

“Taser in your mask?” He asks, shaking his head. “I really shouldn’t be surprised.”

Dick laughs, and then grabs Wally’s hand in his own, pressing a thumb to the side of his mask, then pressing Wally’s to it as well.

“It’s biometrically activated and deactivated,” Dick explains. “There, I just keyed your biometrics into the system.”

Wally grins at the sheer trust that Dick places in him, and the he reaches out, carefully peeling the black fabric from Dick’s face, revealing deep blue eyes and the dark circles under them.

“You should sleep more,” Wally murmurs then, tugging the blankets from around Dick and arranging the both of them under the sheets. “Just because we don’t have school right now doesn’t mean you stay up all hours on patrol, man.”

“Sleep is for the weak,” Dick says, but even now he’s slurring his words, and Wally can tell that the younger boy is holding back a yawn. Wally just grins and wraps his arms around the other boy, tightening his embrace and entangling the blankets around them so completely that if Dick were to try and get up he’d probably end up falling off the bed and dragging Wally with him.

“Shh,” Wally shushes, rubbing small circles into Dick’s back. “Sleep.”

“I’m not a cat,” Dick grumbles, but his eyelids are already drooping, and it’s a matter of minutes before the acrobat is drifting off. Wally just presses a kiss to Dick’s head and closes his eyes, letting the rhythm of Dick’s breaths send him off into dreamland too.

* * *

 

When Wally wakes again the first thing he sees is Dick’s blue gaze trained on him. Try as he might, he can’t hide the jolt of shock that goes through his body at the almost unnervingly still gaze focused on him.

“Dude,” Wally accuses when he recovers from the startle. “Were you watching me sleep? That’s creepy, man!”

Dick just laughs, shaking his head. “Not like you haven’t watched me sleep before.”

Wally pouts, scrunching up his nose as he denies, “I admit nothing.”

“Well, Mr. I-admit-nothing,” Dick says, still chuckling intermittently. “Would you like your fifth day present?”

Wally’s eyes widen, and abruptly he remembers that Dick probably had a reason for turning up in his room before the sun was even up. He can barely nod for his excitement, and Dick grins, reaching down into his utility belt and fishing out a gold-painted toy car. “I wanted to give you a real one, but B said you were too young.”

Wally’s already inspecting the car in his hands, scrutinising the little model, before he sees the logo on the front, and abruptly he bursts into laughter.

“An _Audi!”_ He giggles, the pad of his thumb running over the four rings of the logo. “Isn’t it _five_ golden rings, though?”

“Oh, right,” Dick says, facepalming and reaching back into his utility belt and drawing out something with a crinkle of plastic. He drops the object into Wally’s palm and Wally raises an eyebrow, looking down at it in confusion for a second before the realisation hits.

A ring pop. Dick Grayson, the complete and utter dork, gave him a ring pop for the fifth day of Christmas.

He can’t help the wave of giggles that overtake him suddenly, and then he’s leaning on Dick for support as he clutches his stomach, laughter ripping its way out of his throat.

“Oh, man,” Wally forces out in between laughs. “You’re such a dork, little bird, I love you so much.”

Dick grins and just wraps his arm around Wally tighter, nuzzling into red hair as his speedster giggles uncontrollably into his chest.

“One last thing,” he says when Wally’s finally calmed down enough. Dick reaches into the little hidden pocket at the side of his thigh and pulls out a small charm, the silver shining in the dim light. This one is the Audi logo, expertly rendered in gold, and circling it is, of all things, a ring pop, except, as expected, in gold as well.

Wally bursts into a new fit of laughter at the sight of the charm, pressing butterfly kisses to Dick’s cheek as he marvels at the sheer workmanship it must have taken to make such a comedic image look elegant. He wordlessly offers his wrist to Dick, free hand swiping tears of mirth from under his eyes, and Dick smiles, fastening the newest charm on without much fuss, looking up at Wally with bright eyes when the action is completed.

Wally meets Dick’s soft gaze with his own, green against blue, and can’t help the wide smile that stretches his cheeks as their love rebounds and amplifies over their bond, and Wally knows, he _knows,_ that Dick Grayson will always be the one.


	6. Six Geese A-Laying

The sixth day brings with it the question of  _ how  _ exactly Dick is going to manage six geese, or seven swans, or even eight maids a-milking. Wally rolls his eyes at the thought, wondering if he needed to ask Uncle B to ask Bruce to keep a look out for any strange purchases Dick might make.

That’s when the front door opens and Dick barges in, carrying a duffel bag slung over one shoulder.

“Pack your bags, Walls, we’re going on a two-day trip!”

Wally just stares, gaping at the younger boy, who for once isn’t dressed in his usual casual wear -hoodie and jeans- and instead is clad in knee length khakis and a T-shirt. It takes a couple of minutes for Wally to recover, and then the first words out of his mouth are, “Wait, where are we going and did you tell Uncle B? What if they think I was kidnapped? Oh my God, did you tell Bruce because if you didn’t what if he thinks I kidnapped you and then he hates me and he’ll probably be plotting my murder like right now oh my G-”

Dick laughs softly, cutting off Wally’s panicked ramble. “I already told B, and don’t worry, Barry gave me the go ahead on this, so come on, KF, time’s a wasting.”

It takes Wally a matter of maybe five seconds to pack a bag with two days’ worth of clothing, and most of that time is actually used to decide what clothes to bring in the first place. He zips back to the front door where Dick’s waiting, and then the younger boy is dragging him out to the nearby zeta beam transporter and inputting coordinates for travel. Then they step into the transporter and Wally feels the usual disorientating feeling of having his molecules assembled and reassembled, and then he’s blinking in bright sunlight as Dick drags him out of the transporter.

“I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Wally quips, taking in the miles of grassland and trees, greenery as far as the eye can see.

And Dick chuckles softly under his breath, gesturing behind him. “And, that’s where you’re wrong, KF. Welcome, to Smallville, Kansas, the Kent Family Farm!”

Wally arches an eyebrow, turns around, and then gapes as he takes in the two-storey farmhouse behind him that he’d somehow missed out. “Wait, Kent? As in Clark Kent as in Superman?”

“The one and only,” Dick says, grinning. “Or, at least, his parents.”

Dick drags Wally up to the front door, and then it’s three knocks on the door before the door’s opening, a gray-haired woman in a pastel purple cardigan and worn jeans behind the door.

“Dick!” She cries, wrapping the small boy up in a hug. “Oh, it’s been ages since Clark’s brought Bruce and you around. You’ve grown so much! Clark should really bring Bruce over more often; such a nice, polite boy, but so  _ lonely.” _

She turns to Wally then, and before Wally can even wonder how anyone could possibly get away with calling Bruce Wayne a “nice, polite boy”, she’s grasping Wally by the shoulders and pulling him into a warm hug too. “Oh, and you must be Wally! Clark’s told me so much about you and your uncle!”

“Wally, this is Mrs. Kent-” Dick begins, only to be cut off by said woman, who interrupts with a pointed, “How many times must I say it, Dick, call me Martha!”

Dick laughs, and then corrects himself.

“Sorry, I meant, this is Martha, Clark’s Ma, and we’ll probably be meeting Mr. Kent- Jonathan, I mean,” he amends at Martha’s raised eyebrow. “Soon, he’s probably out tending to the animals.”

Then Martha claps her hands together, pulling the door open wider and ushering the boys in. “Come on, let’s get your rooms sorted- you two don’t mind sharing Clark’s old room, do you? The guest room is in such a mess right now, dear me.”

Dick and Wally shake their heads in the negative, and Martha smiles and leads the way.

* * *

 

“Can we go see the animals, Mrs K- Martha?”

An answer in the positive has Wally dragged out of the house and to the barn and coop, where Dick immediately pulls Wally into the coop where -what else?- six geese are lined up along the walls.

“Okay, so not all six of them are “a-laying”, but it’s not breeding season for them, I can’t do anything about that, sorry, Walls,” Dick explains, and Wally laughs anyway, and he appreciates the effort Dick’s gone to to give him his sixth day gift.

“I don’t mind,” Wally says, his smile wide and happy as he pulls Dick into a quick kiss. “This is great, Dickie, it must have taken you ages to plan all this.”

“And of course, one more thing,” Dick says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the sixth charm. He fastens it to Wally’s bracelet without much fanfare and watches, smiling, as Wally holds it up to eye level, admiring the delicately rendered charm. It’s silver-based like all the other charms, but is carved and lacquered with six geese in a circle, all of them sitting on eggs.

“I love you so much, Dick,” Wally says, grinning, and Dick smiles back for just a moment before he’s grabbing Wally’s hand again and dragging him out of the coop and to the barn with a cry of “Come on, let’s go see the other animals!”

Wally laughs and allows himself to be pulled along, his mate’s excitement thrumming in his veins and affection in his heart.


	7. Seven Swans A-Swimming

Wally wakes slowly, surrounded by warmth and the feeling of sunlight on his back. He slowly becomes aware of the feeling of Dick lying against him, and the awareness of where he is hits him all of a sudden. He’s on the Kent Family Farm and yesterday Dick had given him the sixth charm along with a view of six real life geese. Wally loves animals, so yesterday was pretty much one of the most fun days he’d ever had, running through the farm and combing out horses’ manes and feeding the cows and the lambs, and it was great. He doesn’t know how to thank Dick for the great day, and the thought that today might be much the same is already sending a thrill of excitement down his spine.

A raises a hand ever so gently to run his fingers through Dick’s mussed hair, a feathery halo around his face. His eyelids are closed and his chest rising and falling steadily in sleep, fingers twitching against Wally’s shirt, where they rest, ever so often. His nose scrunches up occasionally and once in a while he presses closer to Wally’s side, turns to curl into the curve of his body like a cat seeking warmth. Dick’s a bit of a restless sleeper, Wally’s always known that, and seeing the younger boy shift and cuddle closer as if his body recognises its mate without any conscious prompting warms Wally to the bottom of his heart.

By the time Dick stirs Wally’s been awake for a good twenty minutes. The smaller boy stretches and yawns just a little, eyes blinking open and running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.

“Hey, Walls,” Dick greets, voice still sleep-warm and rough. Dick raises a relaxed hand up to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them as he slowly coaxes himself out of the sleep-lethargic state he’d been in.

Then Dick jerks upright, and, in a tone that sounds an awful lot like he’s mimicking someone, yelps, “Dude! Were you watching me sleep? That’s creepy, man!”

And Wally’s mind darts back to two days ago when he’d said the exact same thing to Dick, and he flushes all the way down to the collarbones, a sheepish grin worming its way onto his face.

“Guilty as charged.” He shrugs, and then Dick grins back, jumping out of bed and pulling him after him.

“Come on, Walls, we’ve gotta go wash up and then go down for breakfast, Martha makes food that’s almost on par with Alf’s!”

* * *

 

After breakfast Dick drags Wally down to the animals again, this time with Mr. K- Jonathan coming along. He shows the two boys how to properly milk the cows, and how to collect the eggs from the chickens and geese without the nesting mothers going berserk. It’s an entertaining, if very messy, morning for the two boys, and afterwards Jonathan retires back to the farmhouse for a cold drink and a rest while Dick drags Wally down to the small lake on the farm grounds. The two boys sit there on the lake shore for ages, leaning against each other and simply enjoying the peace and each others’ presence. Then Dick picks up a stone and skips it across the water, prompting Wally to pick up another and declare that he can do better, which quickly deteriorates into a no-holds barred, all out war, with both of them constantly one-upping the other.

The competition finally ends when a honking noise from the opposite bank interrupts them, causing both Dick and Wally to abruptly halt their stone skipping, both their gazes fixed on the reeds lining the opposite bank.

Then a white-feathered head with an orange beak attached to a long neck slowly peeks out from behind the reeds, and Dick and Wally both relax. It’s just a swan.

The swan slowly creeps out from behind the reeds, seeming satisfied that the disturbance is gone. As the swan emerges, another follows behind, a female one, by the looks of it. Behind the two swans are five little cygnets, and Dick laughs suddenly and abruptly. When Wally looks at him, eyebrow raised in question, Dick just shakes his head and says, “Okay, I knew there were swans here -I did bring you here for that reason- but I didn’t realise it was going to be exactly seven of them!”

And Wally chuckles too, smile overtaking his face as Dick pulls out a few slices of toast from his pocket and scatters crumbs over the water’s surface, watching as the swans warily swim nearer. He hands Wally a slice too, and the speedster takes it, doing the same and watching as the small family edges nearer and begins to eat.

When their supply of bread is exhausted, Dick and Wally lean back on their hands and watch the swans peck at the remainder of the bread on the water’s surface, and Dick smiles, pulling the seventh charm from his pocket and holding it up against the sunlight. He clips it on to Wally’s bracelet after a second of watching it shine in the light, and Wally smiles as he admires the new charm, the way the bracelet is slowly but surely filling up. The seventh charm is a simple one, seven swans swimming in a V formation, the one at the front the nearest and therefore largest, and the two at the back the farthest and smallest.

It’s peaceful here, the late afternoon sun casting dappled shadows on the floor through the leaves of the trees bordering the lake, the small family of swans happily pecking at the bread crumbs, occasionally letting out faint noises, and his soulmate at his side, both of them leaning into each other, the slight waves of the lake lapping against the shore and the rustle of the wind through the reeds.

And that’s when there’s a loud honk from behind Wally, and when he turns, startled, standing right behind him is the male swan, wings flared and pecking purposefully at his pockets.

Wally stands abruptly and backs away, but the swan follows.

“What are you doing, stop following me,” Wally babbles, still backing away. “No, no, I don’t have any more bread, please stop following me-”

The swan advances anyway, this time even more daring as it pecks at Wally’s hand hard enough to leave a red mark, and Wally yelps in surprise, pulling away once again.

Finally Wally gives up trying to back away and darts forward at inhuman speeds, picking Dick up in his arms and zipping back to the farmhouse, where he leans against the door, panting from shock.

“That swan had something against me, I swear,” Wally mutters, eyeing Dick as the younger boy tries -and fails- to hide a snicker.

“Don’t you _dare_ laugh, Dick Grayson, you were the one who brought the bread in the first place!”

Then the door behind Wally opens, sending the speedster sprawling on the ground as the surface he was leaning against disappears, and that’s it, that’s the final straw. Dick bursts out laughing, almost falling to the ground in his mirth, and when the two boys look up, they meet the warm, laughing gaze of Jonathan Kent, who offers both of them a hand up, shaking his head in fond exasperation.

“Tried to feed the swans, did you?” He asks, chuckling, and Wally pouts.

Dick just laughs, and after a moment more of pouting, Wally begins laughing too.


	8. Eight Maids A-Milking

Day eight begins with Wally waking in his own bed after two tiring but really, really fun days. He wonders why Dick didn’t plan to stay at the Kent farm for the eighth day too -eight maids a-milking would be rather hard to find anywhere else.

But here he is, lying in his own bed on the morning of day eight, and Dick is probably back at Wayne Manor, maybe sleeping, but probably training. Just because it was the Christmas season didn’t mean that Bats rested.

He lays in his bed, the fingers of his left hand playing almost unconsciously with the charms dangling from the bracelet on his right wrist, watching the sun streaming in through the windows reflecting off the metal, casting little clusters of reflected light on his walls and bedspread. The seven charms on it are a veritable rainbow of colour, from the varied greens and browns of the first three days to the muted reds of the robins on day four, the golden sheen of day five and the whites and creams of days six and seven. Wally smiles at the charms, and then his mind wanders back to trying to figure out how in the world Dick’s going to accomplish eight maids a-milking.

It’s barely been ten hours and he already misses his soulmate. Wally wonders just what Dick’s doing right at this moment -is he training? Sleeping? Having breakfast?

There’s a part of Wally that’s aching for Dick, a yawning hollowness below his lungs that feels like he’ll never be complete without the other. It’s not so bad of a feeling that he can’t ignore it most of the time, but right now, in his bed with nothing else to capture his attention, it’s obvious to Wally that Dick Grayson is half of his soul, the better half of him that he can’t live without.

Wally thinks maybe if he didn’t have Dick he wouldn’t want to live anyway.

The doorbell downstairs drag him out of his thoughts, and even though it’s still early, even though it hasn’t even been a day, a small part of Wally immediately brightens, hoping and  _ hoping  _ that it’s Dick at the door.

The speedster practically leaps out of bed, throwing the covers off, uncaring as they land in a heap of rumpled fabric on the ground, and he vaults over the mess of dirty clothes and Flash memorabilia that litter his floor. He superspeeds down the steps and to the door, flinging it open without even checking the peephole, and, yes, his soulmate does not disappoint. Standing on the other side of the door is Dick, a wrapped cardboard box at his feet.

And even though Wally is ecstatic to see his little bird again, elated to feel the close proximity filling the gap between his heart and lungs, until he feels like he can breathe properly once again, Wally can’t stop the “Dude, how did you get here so fast? Did you not sleep last night?” That falls unbidden from his tongue.

Dick just laughs, high and happy, and says, “Time difference, Walls, there’s an hour’s difference. Anyway, I came here straight after training, and the zeta beams are fast.”

Wally grins, bending to lift the box as he gestures Dick into the house. Dick heads inside and makes himself comfortable on the couch, stopping when Wally lets out a surprised yelp.

“What is inside this box, man?” Wally asks, said box slipping out of his grip already as the redhead tries desperately to bring it into the house. “Why in the world is it so heavy?”

Dick giggles, voice teasing as he says, “That’s for me to know, and you to find out.”

Nonetheless, the acrobat heads over to give Wally a hand with the box anyway, and when the two boys have the box appropriately situated on the ground in front of the couch, Dick gestures for Wally to open it, which the speedster does, lifting the flap warily as if he expects a repeat of the second day, when Dick had packed turtle doves into a box and they’d flown straight into Wally’s face when the box was opened.

Nothing moves, and Wally opens the box just a tad faster.

When the flaps are fully opened, Wally finds that the box is filled with eight large cartons of -of all things-  _ milk. _

“Where are the maids?” Wally teases, and Dick grins.

“Look closer,” the smaller boy hums, and Wally lifts a carton of milk out of the box.

It’s a blue carton, on which a grassy hill with small trees is printed, a splash of milk in the foreground. What really catches Wally’s eye is the woman carrying a bucket of milk rendered in red, blue and yellow, and the logo of the milk carton.

The brand is Dutch Lady. All eight cartons of milk literally have milkmaids imprinted on them. Dick Grayson gave him  _ puns  _ for “eight maids a-milking”, and Wally has never loved him more.

“You are ridiculous, dude,” Wally huffs out between giggles, and Dick just smiles innocently back.

The black-haired boy leans over and presses a light kiss to Wally’s cheek, before pulling out the eight charm and dragging Wally’s wrist within reach, fastening the metallic icon onto the thin chain. The charm itself is the Dutch Lady logo, made to look like it’s the first of a stack of eight. Wally grins at the ridiculity of getting a charm of the Dutch Lady logo to represent eight maids a-milking, but somehow it works.

It’s a silly little pun, a silly little play on words, but even if Wally didn’t appreciate the joke quite so much, even if he didn’t have the sense of humour that he does, he thinks he would still love the gift either way, because it’s a gift from his soulmate, from Dick, from his Robin, and Wally  _ knows  _ that anything Dick gives him,  _ anything,  _ Wally will treasure like it’s worth more than all his other possessions.


	9. Nine Ladies Dancing

Day nine comes with note left on Wally’s windowsill, in Dick’s handwriting and apologising for not being able to see him in person that day.

 _Hey Walls,_ it starts, as do all of Dick’s notes to him. _Another Arkham breakout again, so chances are I won’t be able to see you for at least the next two days. It’s only a small scale one this time -thankfully Joker’s still locked up, but Riddler and Penguin have gotten out. With any luck, B and I can wrap this up as soon as possible and then I’ll be able to get back to giving you your presents in person again. For now, I’ve left today’s gift at the Allen household and I’ve asked Iris to hold onto tomorrow’s gift for you, so she’ll pass it to you tomorrow. Let’s hope this breakout doesn’t take too much of my time and I don’t need to make separate arrangements for day eleven’s gift too._

_Love, R._

Wally can’t help the slight swell of disappointment that wells up in him, the knowledge that he won’t be seeing Dick for at least the next two days, but at the same time the same bubble of affection that’s been a constant friend over the past few days grows in his chest. The idea that even though Dick is bogged down with Robin work and probably exhausted, he still took the time to figure out arrangements for Wally to receive his daily gifts, is so utterly endearing, so completely _Dick_ that Wally can’t help the smile that stretches across his cheeks.

He gets dressed and speeds over to Uncle B’s and Aunt I’s house, and before he can even knock Aunt I is throwing open the door and ushering him in, grinning and pointing him in the direction of the living room, where a rectangular box is sitting on the coffee table, unassuming and plain, for a gift from Dick. Wally barely spares the time to yell a thank you before he’s zipping over to the box and ripping through the wrapping, opening up the cardboard inside. Sitting inside the box is another smaller box, gift-wrapped perfectly, the wrapping paper a beautiful depiction of Flash and Kid Flash, red and yellow and gold, and Wally carefully peels the tape off the wrapping of this one, knowing full well that Dick meant for him to preserve the paper of this one. His soulmate is devious, Wally thinks fondly, exasperatedly. Dick knew that Wally would never be able to bring himself to rip through any wrapping depicting Flash or even Kid Flash, no matter how much the younger speedster wanted to get at the present inside, and the younger boy is clearly using that as a way to prevent Wally from getting to his present as quick as he can.

The cunning almost impresses Wally, even though he should really expect things like this from Dick.

When Wally finally peels the wrapping off in one whole piece, he’s holding a copy of Dance Dance Revolution in his hand, complete with dance mat, and Wally rolls his eyes, sighing dramatically.

Dick had always said he needed to up his dance game if he hoped to even be on par with the acrobat himself.

Wally places the game in the cabinet under the television that holds all of the video games that he and Dick play and then heads back to the box, fishing the small charm out of it and holding it up to the light, smiling at the engraved depiction of a Dance Dance Revolution game screen, complete with the girl avatar, with the words “9 combo!” in silvery-gold and almost flashing in its reflectiveness. Wally fastens the charm onto his bracelet and grins at the newest addition, and then he’s staring back at the game cabinet, considering.

And, well, Dick _did_ give him a copy of DDR for a reason.


	10. Ten Lords A-Leaping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's really short!

Wally stays the night at Aunt Iris’s and Uncle Barry’s house, and he spends half the day trying to convince Aunt I to give him some sort of clue as to what the gift for day ten is, but Aunt I doesn’t budge, no matter how much he pouts or whines or even gives her the famous puppy dog eyes that he’d learned from Dick.

Then again, no one could possibly pull off puppy eyes as well as Dick Grayson does, with his big baby blues and full lips.

When Wally wakes the curiosity of wanting _so_ desperately to know what it is the first thing on his mind, and the only thing stopping him from immediately zipping down into the kitchen and pestering Aunt I again is the fact that she’s making him pancakes -with chocolate chips!- for breakfast, and food is always essential to a speedster.

Wally thinks he can probably wait just that few minutes more.

The moment Aunt Iris sets the plate of pancakes down in front of him, Wally shovels a forkful into his mouth and mumbles a garbled thank you around the food, prompting Iris to roll her eyes in fond exasperation, followed by a chiding, “Close your mouth when you’re eating, Wally.”

It takes Wally a grand total of twelve point nine seconds to finish the stack of pancakes on his plate, and then he’s casting expectant eyes on Iris, green eyes wide and pleading.

Iris huffs a laugh, but she pulls Wally to his feet and directs him to the garage.

“The present’s in the garage,” she says, and laughs softly when Wally’s entire countenance lights up.

A flash of lightning and Wally’s gone from the table, only a pushed back chair and an empty, syrup-drenched plate left behind.

When Wally gets to the garage the first thing he sees is the frankly _gigantic_ trampoline in the middle of the floor.

There’s a square of paper in the centre of the trampoline, a little note that says _Sorry I can’t be there, but I had the trampoline made for you because who doesn’t love trampolines, huh? Barry helped me reinforce it enough that you should be able to superspeed cannonball on it without it breaking- although I’d advise against that because you’d get catapulted high enough that you’d probably need Clark to fly you down before you hit the ground. Enjoy the gift, and here’s hoping that I see you tomorrow._

_Love, R_

Wally grins, and picks up the charm that’s lying beside note, fastening it to the chain. It’s a simple silver charm, a trampoline mat with the number ten and a little crown on the “e”.

Then Wally’s gaze fixes on the trampoline, and well, if Dick reinforced it enough to withstand his superspeed, he shouldn’t waste the reinforcement, right?


	11. Eleven Pipers Piping

Day eleven dawns with Wally practically vibrating with the hope that he’ll get to see Dick today. He’d begged Uncle B to check the Watchtower feed yesterday night, and word was that both Penguin and Riddler had been locked back up in Arkham, and that meant Dick would be free right?

Unless Dick was too tired and needed to rest. Wally knew how exhausting patrol and fighting could be, and even if he’d never fought either Penguin or Riddler before, he knew how annoying both of them were. They weren’t the Bats’ _worst_ villains, but they were still pretty bad in their own right.

Then there’s a flash of lightning past his house, and Wally runs to the door. Uncle B?

Wally’s after Uncle Barry in a flash, his ring open and suit on in record time, then he’s another lightning streak chasing after the first one. When he catches up to Uncle B the only thing Flash says is a determined, “Piper and Trickster spotted at the bank robbing innocents,” and Wally nods once, decisive, and then the two are matching each other step for step all the way to the bank.

When they get there they’re greeted with a teddy bear to the face, and then there’s an explosion of pink and green smoke, blinding them momentarily. Trickster’s cackling laughter echoes out of the smoke and Piper’s controlling music plays ever louder, a deep, haunting melody through the fog.

Wally coughs, waving a hand through the fog, and beside him the smoke starts to clear, Barry spinning his arms in a cyclone that siphons the smoke away. Wally joins in a millisecond later, and the smoke’s gone just like that. Trickster stands in front of Wally, laughing maniacally, and Wally takes the opportunity to pull back a fist, and then he’s throwing a punch just like Dick taught him, a hard right hook knocking Tricks on his butt. Wally grins at the successful blow -Dick would be proud- and calls an apology to the older teen, who’s grinning too.

“Nice right hook, Baby Flash,” the Rogue compliments, working his jaw. “But Pipes and I have to make a run for it, seeya later!”

Trickster throws something at the ground, and then he’s gone in another cloud of green and pink smoke. When Uncle B and Wally clear the smoke, Wally almost expects Piper and Trickster to be gone, but he turns and sees them tied up in front of him, Piper’s pipe disassembled and in pieces on the ground in front of him, hands bound behind his back and ankles tied together. Trickster is similarly tied up, disarmed and pouting.

“-came out of nowhere,” Trickster was complaining. “Didn’t even see him coming!”

Piper was less amused, rolling his eyes behind his goggles and lips twisted in annoyance.

“Call off your little friend, Kid,” he grumbles, and Wally tilts his head in confusion.

“What?”

Piper jerks his head to the side, and abruptly there’s a familiar cackle echoing through the air, and a second later a black and yellow blur is flipping in, and Robin lands with arms spread wide, cape fluttering in the wind as he bows at the waist. “Ta-da!”

“Day eleven,” Dick chirps, and pushes Piper towards Wally. “Eleven pipers piping.”

And Wally laughs, and laughs, and laughs.

* * *

Later on after Trickster and Piper have been successfully dropped off at Iron Heights and Dick and Wally are back at the Allen household, out of costume, Wally grins and throws an arm around Dick’s shoulders, leaning into the smaller boy and pressing a light kiss to his jaw.

“I missed you,” the speedster mumbles into tan skin, and Dick giggles and hugs him closer.

“Missed you too, KF.”

Then Dick pulls the eleventh charm from his pocket and fastens it on, a little silver piece with the image of an olden-style piper, an image reminiscent of the usual depictions of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and fastens the small charm to Wally’s bracelet. Both boys watch the tiny metallic piece shimmer, and Wally smiles at the almost filled chain.

“One more to go,” Dick whispers softly, and Wally smiles back.


	12. Twelve Drummers Drumming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Thank you for staying with me throughout this fic and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!  
> A little note before you start: I know the Twelve Days of Christmas are technically the days after Christmas, but for the sake of this fic Dick gave Wally the gifts in the twelve days leading up to Christmas because, well, it's a heck a lot cuter to have the presents lead up to Christmas rather than away from Christmas.  
> Anyway, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and whether or not you celebrate it, I hope you have a great day!

Wally wakes up on Christmas morning more excited than he can ever remember being. It’s his first Christmas with Dick as his soulmate, and Bruce had invited him over to Wayne Manor for Christmas- Wally was going to get to spend Christmas with his soulmate!

Dick had convinced Bruce to let Wally stay the night, and Wally was so happy, so elated about it that he spent the day in a state of constant buzzing, filled with so much anticipation that he was practically vibrating.

No, scratch that, he _was_ vibrating.

Uncle B has to physically stabilise him with both hands on his shoulders to stop him from giving away their secret identities, even as he follows Uncle B around. He’s spending the day with Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris, because Mum and Dad are busy again, even on Christmas Day itself. Aunt Iris had offered to take him out with her for the day when she’d found out, so right now they’re at the CCPD Christmas party with Uncle Barry’s colleagues, and later on they’ll head over to the CCPN Christmas party, before finally going for the Justice League party, where Wally will leave with the Bats when it’s over and stay the night with Dick at Wayne Manor, and then Uncle B will pick him up the next evening and bring him back home.

Wally can barely even remember what happens during the CCPD and CCPN parties, he’s so psyched for the Justice League one. He vaguely remembers being introduced as Uncle B’s and Aunt I’s nephew -sometimes he wishes they were his parents instead, but life’s good either way, he thinks- and vaguely remembers colleagues fawning over him. Once, he’d gotten into a deep discussion with one of Uncle B’s forensic scientist colleagues, and they’d laughed merrily and told Uncle B, “This one’s gonna follow in your footsteps, is he?”

Uncle B had laughed and ruffled his hair, to which Wally had pouted and tried to fix it again, to no avail. He thinks he remembers Uncle B saying, “Wally can be whatever he wants to be when he grows up,” fondly, and the memory leaves Wally warm and content.

Finally evening comes and the three of them head back home, where Aunt Iris settles in for the night and presses a kiss to Uncle Barry’s cheek, telling him to enjoy himself at the party. She does the same to Wally, and then the two are flicking open their rings and donning their costumes, then they’re both gone in a flash of lightning.

The Justice League party is held in Mount Justice this year, and when the Flashes get there the party is already in full swing. Wally spots Roy off in a corner, hanging out with a dark-skinned boy with close-cropped silver hair and gray eyes. The boy is dressed in a sleeveless red vest and skin tight black pants, and the A on his belt and the gills at his throat tell Wally that this guy must be Aqualad, the newest kid hero and Aquaman’s recently-taken-on apprentice.

The rest of the League are milling around, all of them in costume. Wally catches glimpses of some of the heroes that Uncle B has already introduced him to, Superman and Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter, for instance, but try as he might he can’t seem to find the Bats.

Are they not here? Wally knows Batman doesn’t always join the festivities, it’s a constant point of contention among the original seven, Uncle B tells him, but Dick had promised they’d be here today.

Of course that’s when a blur of red, black and yellow flips down and lands in a crouch in front of him, an echoing giggle trailing behind.

“KF!” Dick greets, enveloping the older boy in a hug.

Wally hugs back, before pulling away and pouting. “Did you wait in the rafters just to flip down and scare me when I came?”

Dick tilts his head and smiles brightly, innocently, and Wally is certain that below that mask of his those baby blue eyes are blinking ever so guilelessly.

“You little troll,” Wally accuses, but grins nonetheless as he loops an arm around Dick’s shoulders and pulls his soulmate close. “Let’s go hang out with Roy and Aqualad- I wanna meet the new guy, it’s gonna be great to finally not be the newest child hero in the biz.”

Dick laughs and wraps his arm around Wally’s torso, teasing, “I’ve already met him, and he seems _much_ more put together than you. I don’t think you’ll be getting off the hook that easily, Kid, he’s _way_ more traught.”

Wally scowls half-heartedly and pulls Dick into a headlock, about to rub his knuckles into Dick’s hair when he blinks and the acrobat isn’t in his grip anymore.

“Why must you be good at escapism,” Wally whines, and Dick just smiles guilelessly yet again.

* * *

 

When the party winds down and Uncle B grins and sends him off with the Bats, a reminder that he’ll be at the Manor to pick him up tomorrow evening, Wally’s back to vibrating with excitement again, because this may not be the first time he’s spending the night at the Manor, but it’s gonna be his first Christmas at the Manor and even if he wasn’t spending it with Dick he’s still anticipating seeing what Wayne Manor’s gonna look like all dolled up.

When he follows the Bats into the zeta and they emerge in the Batcave, the first thing Wally sees is the giant wreath of holly made out of tinsel and plastic hanging from the top of the Batcomputer. He grins at the sight, and Dick stage whispers, “I put it up there, and B tried to take it down, but then Alf saw it and decided that we needed more Christmas spirit down here, so B’s forbidden from removing it now.”

Batman grunts, and Dick sticks out his tongue in the man’s general direction.

“Masters Bruce and Richard,” Alfred greets then, descending the stairs from the Manor. “Master Wallace.

“I have brought hot chocolate and cookies, and Master Bruce, you are reminded that you promised you would not work tonight,” the butler continues, setting down his tray and arching an eyebrow at the caped crusader, who’d just settled down in front of the Batcomputer and started typing.

“But Alfr-”

“No buts, Master Bruce. You will drink your hot chocolate and have a cookie or two, and then you will head up to the sitting room and open the presents that Master Richard and I have so painstakingly chosen for you. If it is any incentive, Miss Kyle dropped off some gifts earlier, including one for young Master Wallace.”

“How’d she know-” Dick starts, then shakes his hand in acceptance. “Never mind, she’s Catwoman, of course she knows. Come on, Walls, let’s head upstairs and see what Selina got us.”

* * *

When they get to the sitting room where the _huge_ Wayne Christmas tree sits, the first thing they see is the frankly gigantic present under the tree. Dick checks the note, and it says it’s from Selina, with a little scribbled cat face and heart shape. It’s for the both of them, it seems.

Dick and Wally exchange glances, then they’re tearing into the gift wrapping until they’ve unearthed two giant plushies. Robin and Kid Flash plushies, to be exact.

The stuffed toys are large enough that they come up to Wally’s torso, and wide enough around that it takes Wally’s entirely armspan to fully encircle it. The box contains another two plushies, smaller and more sensibly-sized replicas of the giant ones, and Wally immediately picks up the Robin one, hugging it to his chest as he stares defiantly at Dick. “This one is mine now. You can keep the two giant ones, there’s no way they’re gonna fit in my room, but this one is mine.”

Dick grins and picks up the smaller Kid Flash one. “This one is mine, then.”

The boys take a seat in front of the fireplace then, using the two gigantic plushies as cushions, and between the two of them they manage to finish up almost a pot’s worth of hot chocolate and three plates of Alfred’s cookies, before they finally retire to Dick’s room.

In Dick’s room, said boy pulls out a tin of cookies from under his bed and hands them to Wally.

“I made these with Alf yesterday, and they’re for you to bring home. Merry Christmas, Walls, and even though it’s technically the first day of Christmas today, this _is_ the twelfth gift, so day twelve: Twelve drummers drumming,” Dick hums, and Wally smiles, opening the tin and seeing it full of mostly Alfred’s famous chocolate chip cookies, but among them, forming the first layer of cookies in the tin are twelve sugar cookies, carefully iced and shaped, in the form of twelve drummers.

Wally carefully puts the tin aside, even though a part of him is tempted to just eat the cookies now, but he’s still buzzing from the sugar high of three plates of cookies and who knew how many mugs of hot chocolate, and he doesn’t think making Dick deal with a teenage speedster on a hyperactive sugar high is the best idea.

Instead he leans over and presses a kiss to Dick’s cheek, and smiles when Dick leans back and pecks his lips in reply, pulling out the twelfth and final charm from his pocket and fastening it to Wally’s bracelet.

It’s a little drum set with a person seated at the drums, caught in the midst of playing them and Wally smiles at the depiction, leans over and kisses Dick once more, and then settles back into Dick’s bed and grins.

“Now, how about we put on Mario Kart and I trash you at it?”

“Oh, you’re _on,_ West.”

**Author's Note:**

> [My Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_dreamdweller/)  
>  Pop over and say hi!


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